Wednesday, June 27, 2012

Well I've had this super-cool piece of rusted-up stove pipe which I've been saving for a project. A few weeks ago I had the idea to use it as a pendant light fixture. I thought it would create a cool up/down lighting effect. It probably would have had I figured out how to properly attach it the existing pendant base. It kept flopping sideways and I couldn't get it to stay parallel with the wire. HOWEVER, I have not "shut the door" on that project. I will figure out how to support the interior of that pipe properly. It may require some welding but hey, I'm up for the challenge! :-)

In the meantime, I decided to put my rusty stovepipe to use in a much EASIER way by allowing it to appear as a tall, industrial support for a candle. The height makes it perfect for a floor-type candle holder. I took an old wooden, flat-based fruit bowl and flipped it upside down to create a substantial base for the stovepipe. I have a lot of black accents in this room so it tied in perfectly. I then stacked empty soup cans to create the inner platform on which the candle will sit. (Note: A base is not required. It looked equally cool with the pipe "emerging" directly from the floor!)

You could use full soup cans too as they would probably provide a sturdier structure. The stovepipe acts as a decorative sleeve which slides over and masks the cans. I wanted the candle to appear as though it was floating within the black void of the stovepipe so I made sure the stacked cans were recessed enough to be unnoticed. This meant messing around with with different soup can heights to come up with the correct height. I used a flatter tuna can at the bottom to achieve the height required. (that smaller, black, circular thing is a 'rubber grippy' so the cans would not slide off center of each other)

Oh and if you don't have a candle that is substantial enough in height, stack two.

The candle used here is actually two pillars connected via a bit of melted wax between them.

So, if you like the industrial or rustic look and enjoy easy projects, snag a piece of scrap stovepipe.

You never know what types of cool decor may be born from old, rusty cylinders of metal.